Bringing back the mortals of 38 Indians, General V K Singh is heading to India

02 Apr 2018 11:36:02

New Delhi, April 2: It’s difficult to accept the fact that the person we love is no more with us, and when it comes to someone closer it gets all the more difficult. The country mourned over the most shocking news of 39 Indians death in Iraq. The mortal remains of 38 of the 39 Indians, killed by the Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, will be brought back to India today from Baghdad.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh had left for Iraq on April 1 to bring back the mortal remains of the 38 Indians who were killed by ISIS in Mosul. Informing about the news Indian Ambassador to Iraq, Dr Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit said, the mortal remains have been handed over by the Iraqi Health Ministry to the Indian Embassy and placed in a special aircraft.

 

The Indian Air Force C17 aircraft carrying mortal remains of 38 Indians, who went missing in Mosul in June 2014, is expected to land in Amritsar today.

The Ambassador said, the work to fly back the mortal remains of one more Indian is in progress. General Singh, who reached Baghdad yesterday, saluted the remains at the airport as workers loaded the caskets on the aircraft.

General Singh condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and expressed the government's stance in fighting the menace. The Minister of State for External Affairs described Islamic State as a very cruel terrorist organisation.

Meeting the President of the Martyr’s Foundation Najiha Al Shimmari, General Singh thanked her and the Iraq government for their co-operation in identifying and handing over the bodies to India.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had recently told Parliament that 40 Indians were abducted by the terror group from Mosul in Iraq in June 2014, but one of them escaped posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh.

The remaining 39 Indians were taken to Badoosh and killed. The remains were later found in a mass grave in Badoush village on the outskirts of Mosul. The families of some of the victims had met Mrs Swaraj in New Delhi last month.

Minister of State for External Affairs, General VK Singh will leave with the mortal remains this morning and first reach Amritsar, followed by Kolkata and Patna, to oversee the process of handing over of bodies to their families.

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